To the Pleasant Life
by travellerslover
Summary: Stuck on a close-quarters mission with her best friend's former student, Haruno Sakura may be forced to face her growing attraction to someone over a decade her junior, unknowingly falling into his trap the entire time. Sometimes, the road to a pleasant life can be messy and complicated, especially when you don't even know you're on it. age swap, generation swap, kakasaku
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **I'll be continuing my other work should the need arise, but I've had this in my mind for ages and ages and really desperately needed it out of my brain. I'm taking some serious liberties with the Naruto Universe by writing this. So I plan on leaving some holes unfilled. No beta present! However, I expect it to be a good story regardless. Please R&R xoxo

**I.**

His hands, worn, but softer than her own, traced the slight curve of her hips as his mouth devoured hers. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, tightly so that maybe she could erase the face of the one doing this to her. He pulled away and whispered into her ear, the soft cadence of his words were indecipherable, but his hot breath caused a tremor to erupt through her body all the way to her core. Daring a glance, she opened her eyes just as he pulled back, and all the saw was a swirling, red sharingan.

Sakura woke with a start and glanced around her, the arousal brought on by the dream still burning her from the inside out.

"Sakura-taichou, is everything okay?" Her eyes fell on the ANBU seated a few feet away. Although she knew there must have been at least five scattered around the campsite, hidden from view, she only interacted with one at a time, Raven was the third one to accompany her directly.

"I'm fine, Raven. I just.. Why don't I take the next watch and you go and get some sleep?"

"I'm sorry, Sakura-taichou, but the mission clearly states-"

"What did you call me?" She cut him off, voice seething with unchecked rage.

He faltered, pinned in place by her stony, jade gaze. "Sakura-"

"Taichou. " She finished for him. "So, the next time I give you a request, it would behoove you to take it as an order. Have I made myself clear, Raven?"

She could feel the scowl emanating from behind his porcelain mask. Without another word, he rose from his seat and disappeared to locate his pack.

"You know, Sakura-sensei, you don't have to be so abrasive with us. A simple please will suffice."

She rolled her eyes and suppressed the audible groan tearing up the back of her throat. "I should have known they wouldn't let me leave the village without the infamous Copy-ninja by my side."

He chuckled and took a seat beside her. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but he felt too close. His body heat could be felt, permeating her senses and leaving her feeling muddy. Fighting the urge to scoot further away, Sakura forced the tension from her shoulders and tried desperately to act natural.

"Someone as important as Haruno Sakura needs the extra security after her last mission."

She frowned but said nothing, instead chewed on her tongue in thought.

When the beloved Hatake Legacy stumbles into the village carrying his own detached arm and using a scroll to keep his entrails from becoming his outrails, he's up and running in a week.

Sakura makes one simple miscalculation that almost gets her killed, and they keep her in the village for two months and don't trust her to carry out a diplomatic mission without an army at her disposal.

"He is too green to be on the field anyways. His unwillingness to heed my authority is textbook insubordination. Or misogyny. Either way you see my point. I can't believe they still let children in ANBU."

Kakashi hummed in response, clearly not in the right frame of mind to deal with the often tumultuous landscape that was Sakura's mood. He also didn't want to point out that Raven was only a year younger than himself. The last thing on Kakashi's wishlist was to remind Sakura of their age-gap, something he had been cleverly (or so he hoped) steering her away from for the past three years.

"I can see that you are glad to To be back on the field."

"Yeah." Sakura heaved a heavy sigh as her eyes clouded with images he couldn't see. "I'm already passing my prime. Soon, I'll be confined to hospital duty and diplomatic missions. Oh wait."

"You are not old, Sakura-sensei." His tone was bored and he was more than unhappy with the ironic turn their conversation was taking.

"How old are you again, Kakashi-kun?"

He sighed. Obliging her in her self pity was the safest option at this point. "Twenty-two."

"Exactly! I've known you since you were five! Do you have any idea how that feels? To be lead around by kids half your age?"

"First of all, no one here is remotely half your age. Secondly, in all fairness, you were only sixteen when you met me." He took a deep breath and pushed his ANBU mask up. "And although I enjoy enabling you to wallow in a mid-life crisis, what is this really about?"

A vein in her neck twitched as she swallowed the anger boiling from her chest. She was not having a mid-life crisis. That would be easy. If only things were that simple. She prayed that Kakashi continued to believe her capable of such shallow vanity, because the alternative was so much worse. Being attracted to her teammate's student was unacceptable behavior. And were it not for that dream and the half dozen she'd had before the most recent one, she never would've even thought it possible.

"I suppose I should just ignore the Sai-worthy tactlessness of that last comment, but it'd be foolish to waste a lesson in etiquette on a child."

Though her words held no real venom, she could see they did the trick. Hurt flickered across his eyes before disappearing completely.

That should keep him at arm's length for awhile, she thought. But as He stood to leave, guilt twisted in her heart.

"Wait, Kakashi."

He turned, the porcelain mask firmly in place again, hiding his expression. "Yes, Sensei?"

"You've not been a child to me in years. But you'll always be Naruto's student, and it's hard sometimes to remember that you grew up a long time ago. I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you."

He dropped back down beside her and pushed up his mask. "Well, both of us could stand to be a little less sensitive."

She laughed but didn't respond. Instead, she listened to the lulling symphony of crickets and frogs as the forest around them came to life. She never really did get used to sleeping during the day and traveling at night, but neither could she deny the usefulness of darkness.

They weren't traveling through enemy territory per se, but Water Country had a huge population of rogue ninja, and until recent years trained their shinobi, with with unsavory methods, to treat foreign or enemy shinobi with extreme prejudice. Although many of their tactics have fallen out of practice, there were still veterans working for Kirigakure. So even though the mission was entirely diplomatic, it was always good to have as many advantages as possible when entering unsafe territory.

"Sakura-sensei, their is something that I have been meaning to talk to you about." Kakashi said suddenly, the forest seeming to grow quieter at his admission.

She held her breath. There was something in his tone that alerted her to exactly what he wanted to talk about. It didn't take a fool to notice that Kakashi had been pining for her since he was thirteen, since she rescued little Obito from his self imposed martyrdom.

She, Naruto and Sasuke had nearly killed themselves saving the Uchiha brat. The moment she woke up to Kakashi's large, strangely mismatched eyes that were so full of surprise and adoration, she knew it would take something really big to shake devotion like that. So far, she hadn't been successful.

She licked her suddenly very dry lips, regretting the words before they'd even left her mouth, but fate intervened as per its wont and the pair found themselves surrounded by six shinobi.

Clearly they were in Kirigakure territory. Their pallor, war-worn faces and sharpened teeth said it all. Luckily Kakashi had had enough time to cover his face with the porcelain mask. The last thing they needed was to be identied on the spot. He'd been listed internationally in most Bingo Books, which is why Sakura didn't quite understand his continuation of being in ANBU.

"What are a couple of Konoha Ninja doing so far away from home?" One particularly bulky shinobi asked, his voice rough, but surprisingly high-pitched.

"What makes you think we're from konoha?" Sakura asked in an accent so undeniably not Konoha that she surprised even herself. She always had a knack for languages, but given her schedule, wasn't able to do more than master accents. Unlike Kakashi whose eye let him memorize pages of new words. Although he couldn't speak them with any adequacy, he was a rather proficient translator.

"State your business. What are you are you doing so close to Kiri's borders?"

Sakura reached into her bag slowly, keeping steady eye-contact with the man, and withdrew the proper documentation to get them to the Mizukage.

He read over it carefully, scrunching his weathered face in thought. "It's coded properly, clearly from Mizukage-sama, but it's outdated. Could be stolen." He said to the women standing to his left.

She eyed the Konoha-nin carefully, skimming over the scroll as she did so. "We'll have to take them into custody. I should have been home three weeks ago and I don't think they want a fight anymore than we do."

Sakura was thankful for the woman's exhaustion, but couldn't help gritting her teeth angrily. If Tsunade had allowed her to leave the village a month ago when they received the scroll, then this wouldn't be a problem.

The woman turned back to them. "How many more are in your party? "

Sakura looked at Kakashi as he held up five fingers.

"What are you some kind of princess? Don't answer that. Just tell your men to get over here. We have to take you int Into custody and let the higher-ups decide what to do with you."

Kakashi threw up a few hand signs and six clouds of smoke appeared, revealing Lemur, Raven, Rat, Bear, and Goat. Sakura knew all of them by mask only during a few late night rounds in the hospital.

"Kirigakure is about 5 hours north, but I don't feel like trekking that far with a bunch of foreigners, so we will be teleporting to the village. If any of you tries anything, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Sakura turned around to give them all a look that demanded compliance, her eyes lingering on Raven longer than the rest. Although, she didn't expect any funny business. ANBU was probably the only faction among their ranks that didn't have that rash, overly passionate, "fight until we drop" personalities that so many Konoha ninja were famous for.

The Mist-nin tied loose but sturdy knots around their wrists. Apparently someone recognized the light indigo rhombus in the middle of Sakura's forehead that stood stark against her fair complexion, because she was the only one who received a strong chakra seal. She really couldn't complain, she decided. This took hours off of their journey, and although she would not admit it unless it was a real problem, the pastel-haired kunoichi was still tired from being off the field for so long.

As they all walked in a single file line through the humming forest, Kakashi couldn't help his eyes from training on the long, pastel braid that swung between Sakura's shoulder blades with each swivel of her hips. Its length was a sign of how the past two months had flown by without his notice. The gentle sway of pink on black caused his eyes to glaze over with memories of the last time he saw Sakura before this mission. The day she almost died.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thanks so much to Cookie, rawr, Prescripto13, Erika Hearken, Random Reader, EmilyJade91, and ReinaKanata for the reviews! I'm glad there are others as excited as I am! And thanks to everyone who faved and followed. It really does mean a lot to me. That being said, I don't think this story will be too terribly long, and I think doing short chapters is much more appropriate and easier to write in terms of getting the story across, plus it's been a while since I've written anything, and I'm still trying to get back into the feeling. In two weeks, I'll be done with this semester and I can have some summer vacation time to write! Okay, I'm going to shut it. R&R! xoxo

**II.**

She'd just gotten a haircut. Her pastel pink locks now tickled her shoulders, and had long bangs that curled upwards beneath her chin. It was Kakashi's favorite style, because when she turned quickly to say hello, her hair would flip over her shoulder and reveal a perfect smile. It was just long enough to pull up, but her bangs would always fall into her face, leaving her to groan in frustration as she vainly tucked it behind her ears until she broke down and got a hairpin. But, Kakashi especially loved how, when she was concentrated on her research, the tip of her hair would always find its way into her mouth, and she would unconsciously suck on it like a child.

Also, Kakashi was definitely _not _ stalking Haruno Sakura. He was just terribly perceptive.

Those were the images that assaulted his thoughts as he led his team home from an escort mission in Ishigakure. Since Naruto-sensei was busy with Hokage-grooming business, Kakashi was more than happy to fill the role of team captain. The only downside was how uncomfortable his jounin uniform felt after weeks of wearing his ANBU attire. Although, Sakura did once say that he looked much older in his jounin uniform..

He could have kept the trivial stream of consciousness going for the rest of the trip home, but just as they were passing by Amegakure, a massive explosion in the distance shook the ground beneath their feet. Immediately, the three man squad halted and turned to face the direction of the towering, industrial village as clouds of smoke billowed up from every corner.

"I wonder what's going on.." Rin said, her chestnut brows knitting with worry.

"We shouldn't get involved." Kakashi interjected, immediately putting a stop to her bleeding heart antics before it got out of hand.

Obito scoffed loudly, crossing his arms over his chest. "You would say that."

"I'm not _saying_ anything." Kakashi groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose. "It's just that we've been treading on thin ice with Ame since they got that fake intel about a Konoha rogue-nin heading that anarchist group."

"Wait." Rin interrupted them with wide eyes. "Obito, didn't you say Sakura-sensei was on her way to Ame when you were on gate duty a few weeks ago?"

Kakashi didn't actually hear the tail-end of Rin's observation, because he was already spearheading towards the village, the world slowing around him as his mind calculated as much about their situation as it could without knowing all of the facts.

Amegakure was notorious for having extremely intense security. It was rumored that their leader, Nagato, could tell who was coming and going just from the raindrops falling into the city.

If Sakura-sensei was there, then that meant she was probably working in the hospital or academy as a medic trainer in order to strengthen relations between villages. Konoha was the leader in medical jutsu, and Sakura had been doing these missions since the last war.

"So what's the plan, Taichou?" Obito asked smugly, clearly pleased that not only was he right, but Kakashi had stormed ahead frantically the moment he heard the Chief Medic's name.

A light rain was beginning to fall on their heads, and Kakashi had a feeling they all knew that sneaking in would be hopeless now. "At this rate, I think it's best if we just go in through the gates."

"They will be on us in a second if we do that!"

"No no," Rin disagreed. "Kakashi has a point. If Sakura-sensei's mission was purely diplomatic, then they should already know who she is. Also, we all have our headbands, knowing who we are and killing us without probable cause would violate the recent treaty. Worst case scenario, they'll take us into questioning."

"But what if she is in trouble now?" Obito whined.

Kakashi couldn't help but agree with Obito. He wanted nothing more than to rush to her aid, but politics were a tricky thing and he didn't want his team to be caught in the middle of it.

"Let's hope for the best." Kakashi sighed, breaking into a sprint.

They found out quickly that the anarchists had blown up the academy, Shinobi HQ, the hospital, and the Hall of Official Records. Security at the gates was almost nonexistent, as everyone who wasn't engaged in combat was evacuating civilians.

Rin almost stopped to help a few fallen shinobi, but something stopped her and she pushed forward. Obito scowled at the carnage unraveling the village and clenched his fist, trying to remain focused on their directive.

Kakashi knew why they couldn't stop to help, because the same feeling was compelling him to keep going as well. It was the nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach that alerted Sakura might be in danger, and most likely without backup and surrounded by specialists, which meant non-fighting medics.

The rain began to pour relentlessly, and a few of the rebel shinobi screamed in pain. Someone was using the rain to target the rebels, and Kakashi took the fact that they themselves were not being burned alive by acid rain as a good sign.

The hospital was a wreck as nurses and medics frantically set up tents outside and moved the more critical patients out of the rain. Most of them were dressed in white, but a few wore the red vests Kakashi knew signified apprenticeship with Haruno Sakura.

He approached a young woman, Obito and Rin following close behind.

"Excuse me, Miss, we're looking for Haruno Sakura. Have you seen her?"

The woman bit her lip nervously, checking their headbands before allowing her well constrained anguish to flood onto her face. "We were working in the high security wing together on a critical patient.." She wiped her eyes and swallowed before continuing. "Then the explosion happened and everything was silent. I came to.. A-and Sakura-sensei was surrounded. She told me to run. She said... She would die before they laid a hand on Konan-sama, and that.. And that if she did die she would take them all with her."

"That sounds like her. Where is it?" Obito demanded as Kakashi summoned his pack.

"What gives boss? Why'd you bring us to this dump?"

Kakashi ignored the pug's questions and addressed the entire pack, still not used to leading them. "Help the medics locate survivors. Pakkun, come find me in fifteen minutes."

It turned out that the medic's directions were vague, and given that half of the hospital was in ruins, they had to reluctantly split up. Kakashi knew he was getting close when he had to pause every few seconds to break a complicated seal. High security was an understatement and one had to wonder how _anyone_ had gotten past it in any hurry.

He smelled her before he saw her. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air, but Kakashi could make out faint traces of Sakura's medicinal tea she drank so often it had permeated her very being. He was thankful to come across an area of the hospital that hadn't been completely destroyed, though the wards definitely had something to do with it.

Finally reaching what appeared to be the last of the seals, Kakashi pushed the door open and stumbled backwards as the strong smell of antiseptic and blood overcame him. Six bodies littered the floor. They were lifeless, but showed no serious signs of struggle, no blood. Sakura could kill with just a touch of her finger and great expense to her chakra, but he didn't doubt that she had done just that.

The quiet hum of machinery filled the silence and the scent of blood and Sakura was so strong that his nose began to itch uncomfortably. His eyes trained on a beautiful, blue-haired woman who had remained unharmed and unbothered by the chaos that had ensued, and he knew this woman, Konan, would have Sakura to thank for that.

As Kakashi took a few more slow steps into the light, he finally saw who he had been searching for. A steady stream of blood was peaking from the shadows beside the bed, and when he got a closer look, Rin's name left his mouth in a terrified scream before he had enough time to process what it was he was seeing.

Kakashi had never in his life seen so much blood. Her eyes, now a soft shade of grayish green, locked onto him, unfocused. All color had drained from her face, leaving chalky skin and parted, blue lips. She was alive, but only barely. What was worse, he had no idea where the blood was coming from. She was sprawled across the ground, her red dress wrinkled and pulled up above her thighs, revealing her leg-pack. And although her white coat was speckled with blood, she otherwise seemed unharmed.

"Kakashi! Stop standing there and try and get her memories! I can't move her until I know the situation." Rin barked at him. He didn't even notice her come in. Her voice was so similar to Sakura's that it jolted him forward as he uncovered his sharingan and focused his attention on Sakura's eyes. He had only just recently learned the technique during interrogation training and tried desperately to break through the walls that surrounded Sakura's memories. Although he wasn't surprised, but her mind was impenetrable.

"Sakura-sensei, please let me in. I won't wonder. I just need to know what's happening." A few tears he hadn't known were forming fell onto her cheeks, and like a catalyst, the wet drops broke the dam and a flood of memories flashed across his vision.

Kakashi tore his eyes away and looked at Rin, helplessly wishing she, too, could read his mind. "She.. It's her back. One lunged at her with a katana and she moved just as another sliced up her back. She barely managed to bring them down, used the a lot of chakra to.." He paused, coughing while he tried to remember what exactly it was Sakura did. "She did the death-touch and. Sakura she.. Sakura-sensei tried to activate her seal or summon Katsuyu, but she couldn't move because she.. She might be paralyzed, Rin." He was shaking furiously, no longer worried about the way tears streamed down his face. Kakashi was scared and angry, but not only at the people who did this to her, but at Sakura, for when he had entered her mind, he felt nothing but peace and acceptance.

Rin, her face void of emotion from years of training in the field, nodded in understanding and set to work, doing magic far beyond Kakashi's understanding, and he went to the nearest bin to yank his mask down cough up the nauseous bile that had been working it's way up his throat since the first time that day he'd heard her name.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN Thanks so much for the support. If you haven't noticed yet, this will be a very flashback heavy story, so sorry if it seems a little drabble-esque. R&R! xoxo**

**III.**

"Ow!" Sakura hissed and turned around to glare at the culprit who would dare try to run her over. "Generally, Wolf, when the person in front of you stops, you are expected to stop as well."

"What?" Kakashi looked down at Sakura's stern face, then took in their surroundings. When had they arrived? They were waiting outside the Mizukage's office. His mind must have run away from him.

"You stepped all over me, or didn't you notice? Was your head up in the clouds"

"I apologize, Sakura-sensei. You just aren't in my line of sight. And just because someone is much taller than you doesn't mean their heads touch the clouds." He watched as the ANBU in front of them vainly suppressed the laughter that shook their shoulders.

Sakura's jaw dropped, and were her hands not tied, he knew that her arms would be crossed over her chest while she spat out a clever retort then punched him so hard, his body flung backwards like a ragdoll.

Unexpectedly, she simply shut her mouth and frowned. "I liked it better when you were small and still respected me."

"I still respect you, Sakura-sensei." He was leaning down so that they were nearly eye-level. Although the cloak, porcelain mask, and another layer of fabric hid all of Kakashi's features from view, he knew that Sakura was picturing a smirk on his lips, and imagining what exactly his lips looked like.

"Insufferable. The whole lot of you. Tsunade sends me on a diplomatic mission with a bunch of back-talking children. Were my pink hair not already the height of professionalism, then the way I can command respect certainly is."

"So why are we waiting in line?" Kakashi asked, brushing over her fit flawlessly.

"_We_ are not waiting in line. I am simply waiting." She gave him a strange look, her eyes calculating the reasons behind his sudden onset absentmindedness. "You guys are being evaluated so they can decide who will be allowed to accompany me for the duration of my stay. Although I have never had backup before for this kind of mission."

Kakashi easily had about a thousand words to say about that, but he knew bait when he saw it and was not in the mood to banter, or argue. It was always hard to tell with Sakura.

"They will probably only allow one or two to stay. I'm sure your first choice is Raven."

Sakura choked back laughter. "How _ever_ did you know?"

Kakashi grinned, an action heard in his tone of voice. "You guys just really seemed to hit it off."

Raven just exited the examination room and crossed the hall to wait with the others. Sakura kept a surprisingly straight face.

"Okay seriously." She took a step closer and spoke so quietly, only Kakashi could hear her. "Who is Raven? The cloaks are hiding the only discernable features you all have."

"You know I can't tell you that." And Kakashi would have stuck by that principle, were it not for the way Sakura's expression turned soft and hopeless as she stared up at him with wide, sparkling eyes. "Let's just say, within this squad, there might be a wood-user, an Uchiha, and a skilled senbon-user."

Sakura smiled triumphantly. She knew exactly who those three were, and it didn't take a genius to figure out Raven's identity.

...

This wasn't the hardest decision she'd had to make, but it was ranked pretty high. Uchiha had been removed from the squad immediately because of his sharingan, and the only reason Kakashi was still an option was because his sharingan could be covered.

Two more were removed simply for being female, which made Sakura assume that the Mizukage wasn't in charge of this process, because most kunoichi wouldn't disqualify a shinobi for being female. That left Tenzou, Kakashi, and Genma.

Genma was out immediately, and not only for his sexual reputation, but because last year he had conned her into furiously making out with him during a Christmas party, and the last thing she needed was spending weeks on end brushing off his advances.

Tenzou was a great choice. He was smart, funny, and more than capable. Not to mention he had those big, doughy eyes that could go from stunning to terrifying in a flash. It never failed to keep people into submission. But, Tenzou was gullible. And Sakura had a feeling the reason she was being escorted by ANBU, and not jounin, meant there was another mission going on that she wasn't privy to.

They had the best of their faction group with her, knowing they'd get whittled down to one. And Sakura always thought Kakashi was the most skillful. He was sly, cunning, and unassuming with the lazy way he tended to take on most tasks. On the other hand, Sakura was attracted to him (no use denying it), and that was dangerous on a mission. Maybe not her mission, but whatever he was assigned to do in Kirigakure probably required him to be focused and unburdened. But, Sakura hadn't seen him since he was hunched over her dying body, crying hopelessly and trying to do anything to save her.

In a place like Kirigakure, maybe Sakura needed that kind of devotion.

...

Kirigakure was different than she had remembered. The cylindrical, stone buildings, heavy with moss, still towered above, and the feeling of never quite being dry was as uncomfortably present as ever.. But the mist no longer held that ominous presence as it had so many years ago. The lush, green landscape surrounding the village was peaceful, and in the muted light of midday was even beautiful. Jewel tones were always Sakura's favorite, and it seemed that, like the landscape, the buildings were drenched in lush shades of green, eggplant, and maroon, all colors found in the wilderness.

Even though the locals seemed more lively and welcoming than her last visit, yet there was something in their expressions that warranted a second glance, but always disappeared before she could decipher it.

Sakura knew Kakashi felt it too with the way his lone eye would linger on every person longer than needed. Even though he purposefully exuded a carefree attitude, she could see how uncomfortable her teammate was. It might have had something to do with his now destroyed cloak and Wolf mask, but she doubted it.

"Kakashi-kun, remember the last time we were here?" She asked, doing anything to distract her from how long the trip to the hotel was and how unfriendly their "guide" seemed to be.

"I'd rather not. I was eleven and it was the worst day of my life." He was positively pouting beneath that mask, she just knew it.

"You're being dramatic."

"Fine. It was the fourth worst day of my life. "

Sakura nodded in understanding. "I can believe that. It wasn't too great for me either. All of the sudden, Naruto gets dragged away on some top secret assignment and commissions me to lead a group of three kids I barely know to an unfriendly village on their second mission as a team."

"You almost died on that mission." His voice held an air of contempt that reminded Sakura of what a stuck up little brat he used to be. She couldn't help the fond smile that curled her mouth upwards.

"Correction, we all almost died on that mission. Another reason why I was never a candidate to lead a genin team of my own." She shook her head, laughing quietly. "I have never in my life seen Naruto that angry. Especially at me. He really loves you guys, you know?"

"Yeah, we know." He turned to give her an eye-smile that did horribly amazing things to her insides.

"We're here." The gruff man leading them said, stopping in front of a very old, traditional bathhouse.

"Oh thank you. I was beginning to think that maybe you were leading us in circles!" Sakura smiled brilliantly, already breaking down the unfriendly man.

The large man smirked. "Maybe I was. Here's a map. The Mizukage expects you at 7 a.m. Sharp tomorrow morning. You're being watched, so if he wonders off, he'd better check in with you on the hour."

Sakura nodded, not really listening. Bathhouse meant hot spring and her mind couldn't fit anymore information not related to soaking in a spring. Grabbing Kakashi's wrist, Sakura dragged him inside, spoke a mile a minute to the clerk and in matter of what seemed like seconds, they were settled in the second best room of the inn.

"Are we or are we not the luckiest people on the planet, Kakashi-kun?" She was sprawled across the couch the separated their beds and grinning like a cheshire cat.

Kakashi was on the verge of scowling at the demeaning honorific until he turned and saw how terribly happy she was.

He shrugged out of his gear and took a seat beside her, moving the large stack of files she needed to read. "Are your diplomatic missions always so.. luxurious?" He gestured to their room, although not very big, it had shiny hardwood floors, soft beds, and a private hot spring outside.

"Yes and no. Depends on the relationship we have with the village and what is at stake. But I think they know how much help their medic ninja need in the training department, so the least they can do is set me up in a nice room."

Kakashi hummed in agreement and picked up a few of the files. They were extensive and contained all of the information pertaining to the state of the hospital, the current medics in action and prospective ones in the academy.

"Sakura-sensei, are you supposed to.." She was asleep, soundly so, clearly far more exhausted than she'd been letting on. Her lips parted and for the briefest of moments, he remembered the day she almost died.

He could lie to everyone else and say it didn't bother him, that he was over it. But, that's just it.. It was all a lie. Honestly, it was hard to look at her without seeing the pool of blood growing beneath her.

Later, Rin had told him that the moment Sakura awoke, she asked for him, but he wasn't there. As soon as he was assured that she would at the very least live, he threw himself into missions immediately. He hadn't been ready to face her, and still wasn't. It was hard to pretend nothing happened, but if she could, he would as well. For now.

He brushed a fallen strand of bubblegum hair from her cheek and was overcome with emotions. Kakashi loved her. She already knew, which was even more embarrassing, but what was he supposed to do?

Kakashi shook his head and removed his mask, the fabric suddenly suffocating. He had two missions to complete while he was here that required complete concentration and careful planning.

Carefully, he lifted the fair-haired kunoichi from her place and moved her to the bed she had immediately claimed as her own the moment her shoes were off.

A presence appeared behind him and Kakashi turned quickly, kunai in hand, only to realize it was coming from the other side of the door.

It was their "guide" from before. Kakashi knew that the man's job was primarily to keep an eye on the two foreign ninja, but he felt reassured by his presence regardless and set about organizing Sakura's paperwork before falling face first into his bed.

。。。。。

"We're back just in time for the Yamanaka Christmas party!" Naruto exclaimed with an excited fist pump, clearly unperturbed by the thin layer of grime that coated their skin.

"You're not seriously considering going, Naruto-sensei." She didn't say it, but they could all hear the "looking like a hot mess" that went unspoken.

"Ew you're right." He grimaced, taking a long whiff of himself. "Maybe I should shower first."

"Trying to look special for Sakura-sensei?" Obito asked.

"I thought her Neji-sensei were dating?" Rin glanced at Kakashi carefully, very aware of how his tired posture stiffened.

"Number one, I am not trying to impress anyone. And B, They broke up like a month ago." Naruto shrugged, taking a leisurely sip from his water, unaware of how the atmosphere around him changed.

"You're just telling us this now?" Obito demanded, his lone eye conspicuously fixed on his silver-haired teammate. "I thought they were living together!"

Naruto stopped abruptly and turned to face his team, eyeing them with gentle affection. For once, his age was apparent, mirrored in the soft lines of his face.

"Yeah they were, but it was never going to last. Just like Hinata and I were never going to last. Big clans like that.. They don't fall in love and start families. They carefully breed and run estates. I'm sure you understand, Obito."

He nodded sadly. "I'm just glad to not live in the main house. I hear it's a hellhole."

Naruto forced the frown from his face. "So who's going to be my date for the party? Rin? No? Okay. Obito? Not you either? Kakashi? Oh who am I -"

"I'll go." Kakashi said, a little too eagerly.

"Alright! My man Kakashi!" Naruto slung an arm over his pupil's shoulders. "Just so you know, I don't put out on the first date."

...

At the edge of the Yamanaka estate, there was a large, rolling hill void of trees, quiet and peaceful and far away from the people she didn't need to see. Sakura shivered and pulled her jacket a little tighter. It was starting to snow, the first one in years. "You think just because this is my second bottle you can sneak up on me?"

"I wasn't trying." He peered down at her from beneath his overgrown bangs, looking like the essence of cool in his black linens, hands stuffed into his pocket.

"What are you doing out here? You're missing the party."

"I prefer drinking myself numb and losing toes to frostbite. Why are you here, Kakashi? Shouldn't you be at the party, drinking with people your own age?"

She was drunk, more drunk than Kakashi had ever seen her. At least she had the sense to leave before making a scene of herself.

"Shouldn't you?" He retorted with a chuckle, prying a large bottle of rice liquor from her hand to take a long pull from his mask.

"I made out with Genma."

He sighed, a little too tired for jealousy. "Yeah, I know."

"Pretty shameful right?" Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, reflecting the moon and stars in a way Kakashi had never seen before. She gave him a watery smile.

"Everyone has made out with Genma." He paused and gave her a sly eye-smile. "Even me."

"Tell me about it. I don't believe you."

"Not a chance, Sakura-sensei."

"I don't believe it anyway. If anything, you made out with Obito. You two have more unresolved sexual tension than Naruto and Sasuke did after an argument."

"Fine, I lost a bet."

"Ha!" She grinned merrily, her smile lighting up her otherwise somber features. "I knew you'd tell me. So easy."

He slinked closer to her, leaning into the moonlight so that she could read his eyes. "Maybe I wanted you know."

"Adds to the intrigue, I suppose." She was looking at him in a way that made him both uncomfortable and terribly excited. "Not that you need any with that mask and those stony, mismatched eyes."

He could feel her liquor-drenched breath on his lips, so warm and saccharine that it practically soaked through his mask and onto his tongue. She looked so beautiful. Her hair had fallen from its binding, and her thick coat fell off of her right shoulder, revealing a pale, smooth neck. The entire picture caused a tremor to roll through his entire body, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"You are so drunk." He murmured sadly. "What happened for you to get so irresponsibly intoxicated?"

She sat back onto the heels of her hands and blew out a long breath, the air leaving her lungs and twisting into the fright air sensually before disappearing altogether.

"Forcing myself to grow up, to try and play house with a man too far above my social standing." Her words were laced with embarrassment, and the way the consonants blurred together somehow gave more weight to her admission.

"Sakura-sensei, you're already an adult."

"I know it seems that way since I'm twelve years older than you, but-"

"Eleven."

"Whatever, but I said grown-up, not adult. You can be an adult forever, but that doesn't mean you're grown up." She reached for the bottle, and Kakashi thought about pulling it away, but the look in her eyes spoke of painful punishment, so he relented and watched sadly as she took three long gulps.

This was maybe only the second or third time he had seen her this way. Every now and then, he would catch glimpses of the person she was beneath the polished mask she carefully secured every day. A crack just large enough to see a beautiful, heartbreaking kind of sadness.

If anyone deserved to be sad, he supposed it could be her.

Kakashi still remembered the night of the Uchiha revolt, lead by Sasuke Uchiha himself. It was the night Naruto lost his parents, and team seven lost their sensei.

They weren't meant to die, Kakashi might have been only about fourteen, but even he could read anguish purely writ across Sasuke's face as his teacher, the Hokage, the great Yellow Flash, crumpled to the ground with his wife.

It wasn't meant to end that way, but it did. Shortly after, Sasuke and every member of his family involved were locked away indefinitely.

No one talked about it, even though it was less than a decade ago. It was a stain on the Uchiha name, and a stain on Konoha.

Everything seemed back to normal. The Uchiha police force had been disbanded, and those left after the revolt, for the most part, stayed quiet and out of the way, keeping to themselves, Obito excluded.

Although it seemed normal, Kakashi could see the way resentment, betrayal, and overwhelming heartbreak simmered beneath the surface of Sakura and Naruto's gaze.

They still defended the traitor, but self-loathing was present every single time they had to.

"Do you think people can change?" Sakura asked suddenly, as if she could hear his train of thought.

Kakashi wanted to ask if she had been to see Sasuke lately, or if she still loved him after everything he put her through, if playing house was her way or solidifying her mask of acceptance... But it was common knowledge that no one else was allowed to talk about Sasuke, and Kakashi wasn't sure Sakura considered him a good enough friend to confide in.

"People only change when the need is forced upon them and they realize it, but otherwise, no." Kakashi thought he sounded stupid, but she smiled at him regardless.

"Are you going to carry me home or are you going to make your elder take care of herself?"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN Totally just realized I haven't posted this yet! **

**-_-''**

**R&R xoxo**

**IV.**

"Aren't you a little young to be trying for jounin?" Sakura asked with a big smile.

"Aren't you a little old?" Kakashi shot back with a glare.

"Do you still hate me?" Sakura frowned. She hadn't seen Kakashi since their near-tragic mission to Kirigakure, where he lost a great deal of respect for her.

"Are you still incompetent?"

"Okay, that's it, you little brat." She slammed her form on the sign in desk and faced him, his head barely reaching the top of her chin. "I don't know who has been feeding your ego and letting you behave like an insolent child, but you'd better get one thing straight: I don't really find you all that special. Just because you're dad is dead and you graduated from the academy early it doesn't give you the right to treat people however the hell you want. Grow up."

Calmly, she signed her name on the form and smiled at the receptionist, who was staring wide-eyed behind the table, before turning back to Kakashi, who was still too stunned to speak.

"And just so you know, I'm an examiner, not an applicant. You've officially barked up the wrong tree. Good luck, Kakashi-kun."

She disappeared in a cloud of smoke and a few shinobi laughed. "You really fucked up this time, Hatake."

...

"Naruto-sensei." Kakashi asked after taking a few more gulps from his water bottle, standing outside of the jounin examination center. The exam didn't begin until sunset, and Rin had made them all dinner to enjoy before he left.

"What's going on, my man."

"How long has Sakura-sensei been a jounin?"

Naruto sat silent for a few minutes, cornflower blue eyes moving left and right as he searched his memory. "Maybe six years? She was the second or third in our year to make jounin."

"So you didn't take the exam together?" Rin asked behind a bite of chicken.

"Nah, I was in training with Jiraiya at the time. She didn't take the test though."

"How is that possible?" questioned the silver haired chunnin.

"Because in the academy she had some of the highest scores. Then she trained with Tsunade and got crazy strong. Like, scary strong. Point is, not everyone has to take the exam if they are wicked smart or have mastered a specific field. Which Sakura-chan's done both."

They were quiet for a few more minutes until Kakashi finally cracked. "Naruto-sensei, I need help."

The blond in question coughed in surprise. "You're actually asking for my help? Is the world ending?"

Kakashi ignored him. "Sakura-sensei is an examiner and I may have offended her earlier."

"You are fucked." Obito laughed with a mouth full of rice. "She hates you."

"Obito, shut up and go buy us some sodas." Naruto suggested, tossing his frog wallet to the Uchiha and eyeing him until he disappeared in a blur of black.

Rin frowned. "Kakashi-kun, I'm sorry, but you deserve it. You've been nothing but hateful to Sakura-sensei."

"Sakura doesn't hate you, but if she's a taijutsu examiner, then you might be in for a world of pain. Maybe you'll get lucky and she's.. No, Shikamaru does the written test, and Shizune tests emergency medical competence. Yeah, you might be screwed."

"Oh no, Kakashi-kun. You might have to do that one thing you hate most.. Admitting you were wrong and apologizing." Rin giggled.

Kakashi groaned loudly as Naruto put an assuring hand on his shoulder. "Look at the bright side. She's going to pummel you sure, but then she'll feel bad and heal you. All will be forgotten."

Despite his teacher's positive attitude, Kakashi didn't feel the least bit reassured.

。。。

Sakura awoke when it was still dark outside and realized, a little embarrassed, that she had fallen asleep before the sun had even gone down. She glanced across the room and saw that Kakashi had fallen asleep still dressed, too.

Although it was nearly five in the morning, Kakashi never sleeps in after someone else. It made her a little suspicious that he was a shadow clone.

Suddenly, her curiosity overcame her and she was trying to calculate exactly what his "secret mission" was. Assassination, information retrieval, reconnaissance, it was impossible to know without him telling her.

Who even hired him? Tsunade gave the orders, sure, but there was always a big wallet behind a risky ANBU assignment.

So long as it didn't interfere with her job, Sakura knew she needed to stay out of it, but that was like telling a fish not to swim.

Carefully, she slid out of bed and silently prepared tea, her eyes straying back to Kakashi in ten-second increments to make sure he wasn't going to flicker out of existence. Which of course would be a pretty good way to tell whether or not he was a clone.

She turned to lean against the counter with a mug in hand. The tea she drank tasted absolutely vile, but it had a pleasant fragrance of flowers and herbs. No one else drank it, or had even tried, so they had no way of knowing how powerful the effects were. Sakura spent more than a few years creating a drinkable soldier pill that wasn't too much for the body to handle. It wasn't the healthiest way to live, but she choked down enough vitamins everyday to give her methods the benefit of a doubt.

With each slow, painful sip, Sakura watched as the sunlight, always hiding behind a veil of grey clouds, began to peak in between the blinds. Kakashi rustled in the sheets and flipped onto his back, softly snoring. The perfect, vertical beams of light began to shine on his face. One by one, the luminescent lines inched down his body, kissing the bare shoulders and arms, then disappearing near his waist.

He looked terribly handsome. His undershirt always showed off the lean muscles of his arms and chest, giving a glimpse of his collar bone beside bare shoulders.

Sakura indulged in one last appraising look before accepting that he wasn't a clone, then headed into the shower.

"I'm a pervert." Sakura groaned quietly against the tiles as cold water rained down onto her skin. She believed it, too. Sure, half of the villages population, all ages and genders, thought Hatake Kakashi was an absolute catch, and had thought so since he was seventeen, but that didn't really make Sakura feel any better.

She suddenly recalled the way he looked after his first seduction mission. Sakura hadn't know he was in ANBU, not yet anyways. Information like that was technically classified and didn't appear on medical records, but she had been the one to do his physical evaluation, taking blood and running the tests that always followed after a mission like that. He had been changed by whatever happened, barely able to meet her gaze. Then, he became more promiscuous. Sakura could understand that. She'd only taken one of those missions before, and she had been very young as well. It was impossible to not come back changed from an experience like that.

That hadn't been what alerted her to his presence among the ANBU ranks. It was when she started noticing him at the pubs more often, a locale she'd often frequent. Many shinobi chose alcohol as a way to numb the memories, Sakura was definitely no stranger to battle fatigue seen in the lifeless eyes and empty glasses of her comrades, of herself. But that was only commonplace during war-time. Kakashi had, for the most part, lived a life of peace. The only reason he'd suddenly take to imbibing would be if were dealing with much more blood on his hands than before.

He'd been in ANBU for nearly six years now, but the number of missions he did had recently decreased, as did his drinking. That made Sakura terribly happy. The last thing Kakashi needed was a mostly manageable drinking problem like her own.

If she weren't such a talented medic, Sakura was sure her drinking would have long since broken her will and aged her body, but she had been trained to repair herself with chakra almost constantly, so she still had the healthy glow of someone ten years younger and an uncanny ability to bounce back.

A knock sounded on the door and Sakura shut off the water, wrapped herself in a towel and opened the door.

Kakashi stared down at her with raised eyebrows. At first, his eyes were glazed over with a memory as he looked at her, reliving something horrible she couldn't see. "Your lips are blue. Were you just taking a cold shower?"

"What's it to you?" She shot back with a faint curl of her lip.

He chuckled and placed his hands on her shoulders, the contact causing goosebumps to prickle her chilled skin. "Always so suspicious."

She opened her mouth to ask what exactly he thought he was doing when it happened. Warmth began to spread outwards from his hands, curling under her skin and threading through her muscles until a soft flush dusted her skin.

"Much better." He murmured, dragging his fingers up her neck to run them through her hair, now magenta and heavy with water. "Pardon me."

He pushed her aside, disappearing into the bathroom.

'What just happened?' Her mind raced around in confused circles as she worked her way back into the main room.

Her heart was pounding against her ribs almost painfully, and a warmth had started to coil tightly in the pit of her stomach. While Kakashi spent his entire shower trying to psychologically wash away how amazing Sakura's skin felt beneath his hands and by the time he was finished and dressed, the both of them appeared relatively normal.

。。。

Sakura leaned casually against a large pile of dirt and rocks she had recently unearthed, and took long, even breaths to appear unaffected by Kakashi's speed.

She was stronger, that much was for sure, but Kakashi moved as swiftly and silently as a veteran. It would have made her self conscious were it not for the fact that his speed was the only thing keeping him alive. Well, and her unwillingness to kill him.

"You've still got two more minutes to pin me." Sakura called, knowing he was close by. Kakashi, who was a notorious rule-follower, hadn't quite grasped the concept of playing dirty, which was the only thing that would save him at this moment.

On paper, this section of the exam clearly stated that only taijutsu was to be used. If you could win without cheating, well that's great. But Kakashi wasn't going to and she hoped he'd either figure it out or give up soon. He was her last applicant, and she was nearly dead on her feet from exhaustion.

The ground shook with a heavy tremor for a split second before Kakashi burst from the ground. Immediately Sakura began fighting off his desperate attacks, waiting for the right moment.

Finally, she landed a punch in his chest that would have punctured a lung, but just as she made contact, he exploded, the force tossing her backwards and raining electricity onto her skin.

Sakura was still flying through the air when she made contact with another body. Kakashi grabbed her by the hair and her shirt, and dove into the ground, effectively pinning her there for five seconds.

After climbing off of Sakura, Kakashi dusted himself off and gave his examiner a hand up.

She ran gloved fingers through her sweat-drenched hair and gave him a big, toothy grin. "Good job! You pass. I knew once you realized cheating was the answer, then you'd have me down in no time."

Kakashi was positive that were it not for Sakura's mental and physical exhaustion, he wouldn't have passed, but now wasn't the time to dwell. "I'm sorry, Sakura-sensei."

"For what?" She asked, tilting her head in a way that reminded him of a puppy.

"For what I said earlier."

She threw her head back and let out a loud, unrestrained laugh. "Oh Kakashi-kun. I wasn't all that mad. I just wanted to rile your feathers."

For a moment, Kakashi thought that she might apologize, but when it was apparent she had no plans of doing so, he just sighed and made his way to the medical tent, not pressing his luck by asking for a healing.

。。。

"Kakashi!"

His head snapped up at the shrill pitch of Sakura's voice."Hmm?"

Sakura stared at him in disbelief. "You are such a space case on this mission. I said your name three times."

"Sorry. I was just.."

"What were you thinking about?" She asked, only really paying him half of her attention. Initially, she wanted him to go get her coffee, but he appeared just as tired as herself.

"I was just remembering my jounin exam."

She barked out a laugh and set her pen down to look him in the eyes. "You were such a little prick that day."

"I thought you weren't mad."

"Oh I lied. I was furious, but I was also having a bad day."

Kakashi opened his mouth to ask what had put her in such a foul mood all those years ago, but the door began to creak open, pouring light into their cozy hideaway.

"Sakura-san! The guard said you were still here, but I couldn't find you! Why are you hiding away in here?" The young woman gestured to the room.

Since their arrival this morning, Sakura and Kakashi immediately went about finding a usable room to serve as their base of hospital operations. The room was tucked away within the halls of the area under renovation. It was one of the only finished rooms and was outfitted with two beds, a small table, and a chair.

"I apologize Mizuki-chan." Sakura bowed her head a little, thankful that she could put a name to the young woman's face. "I was feeling a little tired and wanted to finish these drafts away from the main hall."

"I understand. I came to tell you that it's okay if you wanted to call it a day." Mizuki's eyes widened with embarrassment as she realized what she'd said. She bowed deeply, her pale blue hair tumbling over her shoulders like a waterfall. "Not that I'm insinuating you have to answer to me! I simply meant that you've done more than enough. More in one day than we could do in months."

Mizuki was right, too. Sakura had fired, hired, and redistributed over half of the staff, interviewed candidates for infield medic training, reorganized the ER and saved three people from a run-in with poison. And now she was reclining on an empty bed, neck-deep in proposals for amending trade agreements between Fire, Stone, and Mist.

"Mizuki. Calm down. Take a deep breath. Why don't you go tell everyone we're going to head out?"

"Hai, Sakura-san." She bowed again before turning to Kakashi, a blush burning her delicate features. "It was nice to meet you, Kakashi-san."

He nodded with a sighed and watched as she tripped out of the room. "Longest fourteen hours ever."

Sakura's mouth dropped open in an astonished smile. "You barely lifted a finger!"

"Trailing behind you is harder than it looks." He deadpanned, completely serious. Sakura seemed to operate on another plane entirely, buzzing around like a worker bee but demanding complete attention and respect like the queen.

"I'm sorry that this mission doesn't have the subterfuge and overall excitement that you're used to." She clipped, gathering her papers and walking briskly out the door.

"Now that you mention it, this is all really boring." He droned as he caught up and fell in step beside Sakura.

"You get used to it." She shrugged and pushed open the double doors leading into the E.R. It was still an absolute wreck, although now there was an air of organized chaos that was decidedly mush more breathable than the heavy scent of death that welcomed them in the morning.

The Mizukage had allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of ryo on the renovation of their shinobi hospital, but one step inside spoke volumes to how much trouble the project was. Half of the area was unfinished and the other half was overcrowded to the point of endangerment.

Sakura stalked through the room, her eyes only focused completely on the doors that lead outside. She knew that if she let her gaze stray, even for just a second, then she would see at least fifty things she would need to straighten out, and her body simply could not handle it.

"You're buying me drinks." She said to Kakashi the moment the hospital doors shut behind them, taking with it the cool, dry central air-conditioning that made Kiri bearable.

"Excuse me?" Kakashi scratched back of his head and indicated that he hadn't heard her. Although, he really just forgot his wallet.

"You heard me. Now fetch the map and let's find a nice, quiet pub to have a drink. Then, you're _going_ to tell me exactly why you're here."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN Thanks to everyone for your support and whatnot! I love it. I was going to write more of this, but I need help with fight scenes and figured it ended in a pretty good spot. And Kakashi is young and full of young hormonal thoughts, so he might have some objectifying thoughts without meaning to.**

**In case it isn't clear:**

**... means scene change and the line, from now on, means flashback**

**Please R&R! xoxo**

**V.**

Sakura was so beautiful that it was nauseating. She had ditched the lab coat, revealing her red dress, cut modestly, but it hugged her curves in such a way it took all of Kakashi's energy not to rake his gaze over the swell of her hips, or her round breasts. The tiny glimpse of collarbone that peaked over the top of her dress every time she shifted in her seat was driving him absolutely mad.

Her braid had come undone, letting her hair fall in waves over her shoulders, and her eyes were glittering with excitement. She was talking about some medical sealing technique. He was listening just enough to pass an exam on it, but not so much that he could catch minor details. Even the way her mouth moved was tantalizing. Every single syllable sent him closer to the edge, and just before she spoke, she usually ran her tongue over her dry lips, leaving a trail of moisture to shine in its wake.

What made matters worse were the looks of every male patron almost constantly trained on her figure. Did she seriously not notice how every man leered at her constantly, or had she simply grown so accustomed to their stares that she easily paid them no mind?

"What do you think?" she smiled, almost knowingly, in his direction.

"I think that if you know an antidote will work just as well, then why bother wasting over half of your chakra making a seal?" The words tumbled from his mouth and he honestly had no idea where they were coming from.

She sighed. "I suppose you're right. But since the attack in Ame, tensions are high and the borders are completely closed to foreign trade. Ame is the only place you can find the antidote's main ingredient. Plus, I suppose I just like making seals. I want to become a specialist after I retire."

_Amegakure_. He shivered at the memory of Sakura's pale face staring back at him, a halo of blood languidly stretching out from beneath her. The feeling of absolute helplessness came over him, and he quickly took a drink of his rice liquor to quell the negative thoughts.

"Kakashi-kun?"

He scowled. "What?"

"I'm really grateful you and your team were in the area. If it weren't for you guys, I'd either be dead or paralyzed. I know seeing me in such a state must have been tough. You handled it well," she paused, meeting his gaze head-on. "You've grown up so much. I'm so very proud of all of you. I'm lucky to call you my friends."

"Sensei, you're drunk aren't you?" he wasn't joking. Sakura very rarely paid compliments. It made him suspicious.

"Oh shut up. I was just feeling a bit sentimental is all. Way to ruin it, brat," she glared and made sure to take three long gulps of beer just to spite him.

"You _do_ have a lot to be sentimental about."

Her eyes went wide and she gasped in admonishment. "Why you little-! Are you calling me old? I'll have you know that-"

Then, genius struck. "Know what? That you can't get drunk without thinking about the good old days? That you're no fun at all?"

"That is not true! I am _so _much fun!"

"Then how about a drinking game?" He smirked, a look that translated over to his lone eye in a way that he knew had the kunoichi fuming.

"You're on! But we're going to do it at the hotel because I can't have you embarrassing yourself and damaging Konoha's reputation."

He rolled his eyes but agreed nonetheless, placing a few bills that he'd swiped from Sakura's bag onto the table.

...

_I wish he'd stop looking at me like that.. like he wants to devour me. _Sakura thought helplessly, her feet submerged in the private hot spring of their hotel. Kakashi had gone to use the bathroom and get some water. Sakura was grateful for the break from his hungry eyes. He was more drunk than her, obviously, and had lost two-hundred ryo and most of his dignity during their game of liar's dice. She glanced behind her at the four large empty beer bottles, two matching tall cups with tiny shot glasses inside, and the empty bottle of shochu, dice and paper cups littered about.

Pulling her feet from the steamy water, Sakura stood up and grabbed the other bottle of shochu and made her way inside. The room was cool, prickling her warm skin. She placed the bottle on the coffee table next to her paperwork and plopped onto the couch.

Sakura waited for what felt like an eternity before finally huffing exasperatedly and walking to the door.

She knocked. No answer.

"Kakashi-kun? Are you okay?" Still nothing.

Panic began to run the blood cold through her veins. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door. Empty.

_That can't be right_. Sakura closed her eyes and focused on the space around her body, mentally mapping out the room and slowly pushing her chakra outward.

Sakura wasn't a sensory type, but that didn't mean she couldn't detect a presence, or at least a trail. Most shinobi left an imprint of chakra in their wake that, if caught fast enough, could be tracked.

Her eyes snapped open, there was chakra splattered all over the bathroom, dotting the mirror and walls. He had been a clone.

_When did Kakashi have time to do that?_ Sakura couldn't recall a time he'd been out of her sight. And were Kakashi's clones so convincing that they even projected his aura? It would take three soldier pills, minimum, to replenish how much chakra it took him to make a lightning clone like that.

_What if he's injured or chakra depleted or.. _She shook her head. She needed to remain focused, but Sakura was flying blind. Kakashi hadn't told her anything. There was no way of knowing where he went, when he went there, what he was supposed to do.

_Fuck_. Sakura went through the motions of activating her yin seal. She had been saving it for a major emergency and hadn't used it in over five years. A rush of power swirled through her body, pulsating lines of incandescent, lilac chakra, swarming over her skin, twisting to the tips of her fingers and toes. The burst of chakra all but burned the alcohol from her system, but she still felt worse for wear, her body still not in top condition.

After a few moments, the dizziness began to subside and she oriented herself by grabbing onto the sink, careful not to apply any chakra.

Sakura bit into her thumb and performed a summoning jutsu. A burst of smoke appeared instantly and dissipated to reveal a large slug.

"Sakura-chan," she chirped sweetly. "Is everything okay?"

The pinkette shook her head. "No, it isn't. Is there anyway you can contact Tsunade? It's an emergency."

Katsuyu looked doubtful, as doubtful as slugs can look. "It's not impossible, but it isn't easy. You'll have to perform a reverse summons. It takes more than just a lot of chakra, you need peace and concentration."

"I might have some trouble with the peace and concentration part. Just tell me how to do it."

The slug nodded and Sakura listened carefully. Katsuyu failed to mention that the process would take a lot of blood; Sakura had to slice her hand completely open to create the intricate lines and patterns required for a seal that would fit both of them. At least Katsuyu had the decency to not show up in her actual size.

Fifteen minutes, three large pieces of furniture relocated, and a pint and a half of blood removed later, Sakura was seated inside the circle with Katsuyu.

Meditation did not come naturally to Sakura and it had driven her mad for years because Naruto had achieved inner peace before herself. He could meditate on the battlefield. Sakura could be alone, in the middle of a glassy lake with nothing but the wind to keep her company and she would still accomplished nothing.

_Focus_. She needed to focus. It took a dozen slow, calming breaths to return her pulse to normal. Sensing that Sakura had cooled off, Katsuyu slowly recited the hand signs. Sakura heard nothing but the sound of Katsuyu's voice as her hands steadily and gracefully moved from one sign to the next. Finished, she pressed her hand in the middle of the seal.

Sakura didn't need to open her eyes to know that the seal came to life beneath them, she could feel her chakra being absorbed into it bit by bit.

Braving a peak, Sakura wrenched open one eye and immediately wished she hadn't. They were zooming through some otherworldly plane, an endless place that seemed to exist in the vast emptiness that separated space and time. Yet, she felt nothing. They were just a projection, a shadow of themselves while their bodies remained intact.

A familiar room materialized around them. They were in Tsunade's office. The Hokage hadn't seemed to notice them and Sakura called out a few times before Tsunade's head finally jerked up, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Sakura! What in heaven's name are you doing?" she demanded, a mixture of pride and worry in her voice.

"Tsunade-sama, please tell me what Kakashi's mission is in Kiri. I think he's in trouble and I have no way of helping him if I don't know where he is," Sakura pleaded, her emotions weakening the seal momentarily before Kastuyu chided her.

"Sakura, calm down," Tsunade commanded. "I want to help you, but my hands are tied. His mission is top-secret. Only the Mizukage, Kakashi, and myself know the details. If anyone else were to find out, it could be disastrous."

Tsunade's office began to flicker around her and Sakura breathed deeply, steeling herself. "But if Kakashi _is _in trouble, then someone could find him and know exactly who was involved."

"You know that Kakashi would destroy his body before a Processing Team would ever get their hands on him."

"Please, Tsunade-sama, Shishou. Do this one thing for me. I swear on my life I will repay you in every way possible." Sakura's words didn't match her tone, which was flat and detached, but that didn't make her any less sincere.

"Fine," Tsunade conceded, "but I don't want to hear another word about it. Kakashi's mission is to assassinate the Lightning Daimyo and retrieve a scroll stolen from the Kirigakure's private library. The Daimyo's estate is north of the village. Now go before you waste anymore chakra."

Sakura didn't need to be told twice and she immediately dispelled the jutsu, landing them safely back in the hotel. It took a minute for Sakura to process her surroundings and gather her bearings.

"Do you still need my assistance, Sakura-chan?" Katsuyu asked sweetly, her squeaky voice sounding as tired as Sakura felt.

"No, you can go."

Katsuyu disappeared and Sakura stood up slowly, her legs shaking and her vision sloshing back and forth before straightening out.

Kakashi would need to either be unconscious, dead, or have less than ten percent of his chakra for the clone to disappear. It had been roughly half an hour, if his wounds weren't severe, he would be regenerating chakra at a speed of about two percent every ten minutes. Those odds weren't great. The map indicated that it would take her another half hour to reach him.

Sakura grabbed her cloak and set a seal on the door that would activate a genjutsu once it was opened, and disappeared out the back door into the night.

_..._

_I can't believe I've been duped. I outrank Kakashi. ANBU or not, I am his superior and he pulled one over on me. If it costs him his life, I'll kill him, _she thought menacingly, using more force than necessary to push off the branch she'd just landed on, causing the wood to splinter. The mist was disorienting her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. Much like in Amegakure, where the rain was always watching you, Kirigakure's mist was menacing. It only took a few short words, and the humid air could become toxic, burning her skin and stopping her heart. She shivered unconsciously, deeply ingrained paranoia awakening her not so irrational fear of mist.

At least she wouldn't have to leave the main island. Despite putting up the facade of having gotten over what happen last time they were in Water Country, Sakura still often woke up with a start, cold sweat dripping down her back and faded images of violence flashing in slow motion behind her eyes.

The memories overtook her mind as she pushed onwards, eyes searching the misty landscape ceaselessly.

* * *

"Sakura-sensei," whined Obito. "Can't we please take a break and set up camp? We've been running for hours."

"Obito-kun," she sighed. "You know that Water Country isn't safe. We're on the brink of war and I don't want to take any chances. We'll rest once we've met with the client. It's just a couple of more hours until we reach the coast, then we can take a boat and you can take a break. Okay?"

He nodded reluctantly, gathering up more energy to push forward. Sakura ignored their labored breathing, sans Kakashi. He seemed as cool as ever.

It was smooth sailing, like taking candy from a baby. If this was what being a jounin sensei was like, Sakura could see the appeal. They'd met with the client, retrieved a large scroll, and rested peacefully.

The next day, however, had been their undoing. The Hokage, her sensei, couldn't have possibly known what the scroll possessed, so it was hard for Sakura to hold him responsible. The client, Kiwaba, had intentionally commissioned a low-level mission, knowing that Konoha's unwavering trust would provide a group of genin. Easy targets.

In hindsight, Sakura should have realized the scroll's potential the moment she held it in her hands. It buzzed with power so strong that even the seal containing it wasn't strong enough to conceal it efficiently, but she had trusted the Hokage and this high-paying client not to put them in harm's way deliberately.

Why should she suspect such unlawfully duplicitous behavior when she was leading a group of _children_ across the world?

"Sakura-sensei," Rin started, her eyes darting around the boat nervously. "Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" Of course, Sakura knew what Rin meant, but she had thought she was the only one who seemed to notice. Kunoichi had a much more instinctual sense of danger than most, so it wasn't wise to brush off Rin's comment.

"It just seems too quiet. Maybe we should check the crew."

Sakura nodded in agreement, walking to the front of the deck to fetch Kakashi and Obito, who were engaging in a pretty one-sided battle of hanafuda. "Guys, we need to check something out. Act natural and stay close," she whispered, her voice barely carrying through the thick mist that surrounded them in every direction.

Obitio opened his mouth, but Kakashi shot him a glare that snapped it shut very quickly. Sakura fingered the shoulder strap of her bag a little tighter, feeling the weight of the scroll press against her. Cautiously, the crept below deck and Sakura had to throw her hand over Rin's mouth to muffled the scream that almost tore through the silence.

The light from the lanterns had broken through the mist, illuminating a gruesome scene. The crew of fifteen men were strung across the room by a single wire like puppets, seemingly stitched together. Blood was pouring from their wounds, still fresh, but it was impossible for anyone to have survived. The thin wire pierced through their skulls, then back around through their shoulders, then their stomachs. It would have taken amazing precision to do so much in such a limited space. Three long, perfect stitches to string together the corpses of fifteen men.

The sound of Obito retching flung Sakura back into reality, her mind and body now on full alert. "I know who did this."

Her words compelled the three students to snap straight into attention, terror evident in all of their faces. Kakashi found his voice first. "Who?"

"His name is Kushimaru Kuriarare. He's one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman. He's very dangerous." Her voice was shaking with fear no matter how hard she tried to remain calm. Rin and Obito seemed to feed off of her panic, their shoulders beginning to tremble. Sakura cursed herself for being unable to keep cool. "And he is probably not alone. He has a partner, Jinpachi Munashi. There is a chance that they haven't discovered us, I cast a genjustu over us the moment I felt something, but I fear they may be looking for us."

"Why?" Obito asked, his voice hoarse from heaving.

Kakashi had a grave look on his face, aging his young features almost ten years, his voice just as troubled. "I'm assuming that's because whatever's in that scroll isn't what we think. It's one of the Seven Swords, stolen no doubt. Kiwaba wanted it out of his possession before they came for it and killed him. The buyer already paid him, so he has nothing holding it to him anymore."

"Sakura-sensei," Rin interrupted. "We can't take on two of them at once, even with our combined strength."

"Couldn't the stolen sword be useful?" asked Obito.

"I suppose so," Sakura answered warily, pulling the scroll out of her bag and unrolling it. After a few tries, she finally managed to break the seal. Four sets of eyes widened as the smoked dissipated to reveal twin swords known simply as Kiba. "Do we have a lightning user around here?"


End file.
